Brown bin problems: tiny flies

[misstake]

in the country i know my mum still keeps nettles mixed with flowers to keep the flies away honest She is now 86 and still believes its the only cure for flies Ive noticed she dont get flies in the house

[HappyHunter]

I had a community of wasps living under the eves over the back window here. I watched them come and go for a few weeks out of curiosity. When I began to get an idea of how big a commune of wasps can be I decided to take action.

I bought a cheap jar of honey in Lidl, I got some neem oil and blended the two together in a flat plastic dish. I constructed a shelf using a piece of wood and some coat hangers bent in a way that the shelf hung from under the guttering right where the wasps were going in and out. Within about three days all the wasps were gone, those that did not drown when they could not resist the honey were so sickened by the taste of the neem that they went elsewhere. Of course they are more than likely infertile now because if they ingested the neem it messes up their cycle.

During normal composting bugs are welcome visitors because they are part of the decaying process in making compost, as far as I know. Washing the bin out with a solution of neem oil would help to deter the flies and be safer where there are children and pets than fly killer or other chemical insecticides.

Neem can also be applied to the skin as a repellent.

Other than that a few drops of Citronella oil in the bin should help. You can also buy Citronella oil candles to use in the garden which repel wasps and flies.

Also a clove of garlic in the bin may also do the trick on keeping the fruit flies away.

[unapam]

Thanks to all who have made suggestions. The bin was collected last Wednesday and I have washed it out with power hose and sprinkled it with vinegar. I haven't used it yet.

I love that Neem oil and soap. Great for so many things.

[the cookie monster]

bleach its the only way to get rid of them the smell will kill them hope this helps

[flybynight]

Hi, I use the bio bags and haven't had any problem with flies or bees so far. I did get a good tip (which most of you probably know already :)) from my hubby about putting meat, fish, chicken etc.....left overs in the brown bin as even in the bio bags it can pong quite a bit especially in Summer. Since visiting him in Aussie last year, I now freeze any meat leftovers including fish bones, chicken bits etc......just wrapped in a plastic bag and then put them in the brown bin the day before it's collected. Works for me.

Flybynight

[keep-it-tidy]

had the same problem my land lady changed from the council bin to aes and i tought it was great at 1st until last summer the brown bin stinked and them little flyes the min ya open the bin poof in your face :( my grandmother showed me how to stop them get domestos [cnt spell that] kitchen spray with bleach and spray the lid and underneath the lid it should stop the flys, if you have room to wash it out after every time the bin is emptty would be a help as well as your keeping it clean :) good luck

[Etana]

Try wrapping the waste in newspaper. I get those flies in the house during the summer they came from compost bin.